Third mistake dooms Virginia's upset chance

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- With Matt Schaub making all the right throws and Virginia's defense holding, the Cavaliers were in position to overcome two early mistakes and grab the lead from Florida State.

There was no bouncing back from mistake No. 3.

While shouting instructions to tight end Heath Miller on a third-and-3 play from his own 42 yard-line, Schaub suddenly saw the ball sail by, a miscommunication with center Kevin Bailey that became a 17-yard loss.

When the No. 6 Seminoles ground out the last 6:19 of the game Saturday night, Virginia's chance at its second victory in 12 meetings with Florida State -- and the Atlantic Coast Conference title -- were gone.

"It's the same old tale," Schaub said, a huge icepack strapped to his tired right throwing shoulder. "We just hurt ourselves with some turnovers and penalties and some plays not executed the way they should be.

"We just stopped ourselves offensively."

For much of the night, it seemed the only way the Cavaliers could be stopped. Schaub completed 39 of 53 passes, including an ACC record-tying 16 catches by backup tailback Alvin Pearman, and threw touchdown passes of 21 yards to Pearman and 8 yards to Miller as he rallied the Cavaliers.

The pass to Miller came with 7:50 left in the third quarter, pulling Virginia to within 16-14, and all but erased the damage done earlier.

First, a pass to Ryan Sawyer was tipped into the air and intercepted by B.J. Ward, leading to Xavier Beitia's first of four field goals.

Then Brian McFadden's hit on Miller caused a fumble that was recovered by Leroy Smith, another field goal giving the Seminoles a 13-0 lead.

Pearman's touchdown made it 13-7 at halftime, and when the defense limited Florida State to two more field goals in the second half, it seemed only a matter of time before the Cavaliers would pull ahead.

The errant snap made it less likely, and then the Seminoles made it impossible, running the final 12 plays to eat up the rest of the time.

Schaub said it was difficult to watch from the sidelines, and cornerback Amondo Curry said it was even harder from on the field.

"It was very frustrating knowing you want to get another shot to put your offense on the field," Curry said. "It was up to us to get the offense the ball and we didn't do it. We didn't complete the whole game."

Instead, the Seminoles did, but just barely.

Pearman wouldn't let the defense take the fall.

"There were a lot of points in this game where we had a chance to win. We just weren't able to capitalize on it," he said. "There's no point in focusing on the last drive of the game. It hurts. It hurts a lot."